The windshield of a car, truck, boat, aircraft and other vehicles will often get dirty and/or wet, thereby occluding the driver's vision. Consequently, most vehicles are equipped with a windshield wiper to clear the windshield of water and dirt. However, some matter, such as dried insects, mud, and bird droppings, partially adheres to the windshield and is often difficult to remove. Known windshield wiper assemblies are poorly equipped to clear difficult matter from the windshield. In some situations, known windshield wiper assemblies may even exacerbate the situation by smearing this matter across the windshield. Consequently, there is a need for a windshield wiper assembly that is capable of effectively cleaning such matter from the windshield. A further need exists for such a wiper assembly which is selectively actuated by a vehicle operator to perform the cleaning function.
Conventional windshield wiper assemblies typically include a windshield wiper arm that extends from a windshield wiper motor located in the vehicle. A windshield wiper blade holder engages the windshield wiper arm and is moved generally circumferentially back and forth by the arm. A wiper blade engages the blade holder along its spine and contacts the windshield along its tip. It is the movement of the wiper blade tip across the windshield which wipes the windshield of excess moisture. Many vehicles also have a pressurized fluid delivery system which sprays cleaning fluid onto the windshield. Such pressurized fluid systems are selectively actuated either manually by the vehicle operator or automatically by, for example, an electronic control system.
Most windshield wiper blades are long, flexible strips of rubber or plastic. The blades are typically comprised of a spine portion which engages the wiper blade holder and a tip portion which depends therefrom. This tip portion contacts the windshield and wipes excess water along its path. However, the tip is often too flimsy to generate sufficient forces to effectively scrape off dried matter adhered to the windshield. Furthermore, the small area of contact between the tip and the windshield may promote smearing of some matter.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for an improved windshield wiper assembly. This improved assembly should be capable of washing matter off of the windshield while also being capable of removing excess fluid buildup like conventional windshield wiper assemblies. Furthermore, this improved assembly should be capable of being adapted for use with current windshield wiper assemblies. As will be shown in detail below, the subject invention improves upon the known prior art and solves many of the problems related to known designs.